November 24th 2024.
The San Jose State women's volleyball team has recently made headlines as they received a first-round bye in the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament. This puts them in a prime position to potentially face off against one of their conference rivals who had previously refused to play against them during the regular season.
The Spartans have been at the center of a heated debate surrounding transgender athletes in women's sports. Five of their opponents, including four Mountain West teams, chose to forfeit their games rather than compete against SJSU. Two of these teams, Utah State and Boise State, have now qualified for the MW Tournament and are set to face each other in the first round on Wednesday. The winner of this match will then go on to play the Spartans on November 29th for a chance to secure a spot in the final and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
As the tournament approaches, San Jose State is still waiting for a decision on whether their alleged transgender player will be allowed to participate. The Independent Council on Women's Sports, led by former Stanford swimmer Kim Jones, has filed a lawsuit asking a Colorado judge to remove the player from the Spartans' roster before the tournament begins. Arguments were made in an emergency session on Thursday, with team captain Brooke Slusser also being a part of the lawsuit. The judge has yet to make a ruling but has promised to do so in a timely manner.
According to NCAA rules, transgender women are allowed to compete on women's teams after completing a year of testosterone-suppression medication and keeping their hormone levels below certain thresholds. The player in question has not confirmed their transgender identity, so their name is not being disclosed by the news organization.
Since Slusser joined the lawsuit in September, five teams have forfeited their matches against the Spartans. This includes Wyoming, Nevada, Southern Utah, Utah State, and Boise State, with the latter two now being placed on SJSU's side of the tournament bracket.
If San Jose State manages to advance to the finals, they will face off against either Fresno State, San Diego State, or top seed Colorado State. These three teams did not forfeit their regular season matches against the Spartans, so it will be a fair and competitive match regardless of the outcome.
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